The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-11-09

House on SaIcday-.-FlaIn Of action
Submitted -.- Committees Appoint
ed to Report Next Salcday---The
Prospect for the Success of the En-
terprise as Good as Could be EN-
pected Under the Circumstances.
On Saleday Immediately after the adjourn
,ncnt of the Farmers Convention, in accord
,ncc with the notice published in the county
nopers there was q meeting Of citizens who
orr Interested in the establishment of n cot
ton factory in our town. Mr.. w. c. McGowan
was called to the Chair. Capt. +. w. watson
WAS requested to act as Secretary. In stating
the object of the meeting Mr.. MCGOWAN spoke
as follows:
Opening Speech by the Chairman.
81 am very much Obliged, gentlemen, for the
honor you have conferred upon me- II Is an
honor did not expect MS | am not prepared
with any set speech; but / take such greaI
interest in the object of this meeting that
will not be content without saying some
thing. , a.,
The object Of the meeting is to discuss the
proprlcty and practicability of cotton rae
iOry. l am glad the enterprise look plrln
with the farmers. 1t began at the rlsht place
for in my Judgment it would be far hettcr tc
have the shareholders of the capltal Stoch
scattered broadcast over the whole county
than to have ii all in the hands OF few cap
italists. Each share would then represeht n"l 10,
ONLY so many dollars but also SO much IN
tcrest in the enterprise and the properly o.
the town where it is located. And understnno
it, the scheme is to make the shares small
say So5 or $50 and there is not n farmer IN inc
bounds Of Abbeville county who Is not able
to take at least one share.
All we need is unity of purpose ana O.
action. five determine TO take long pun
III for11 tnu0tnpr
factory is as certain TO he built as that lhe
sun rose this morning. Our county, when
she goes as a unit, fails in nothing; ana more
my friends in the appointed time, TO DC &o u,
and doing. Our sister counties in the lIed
mont belt arc ahead of us. Greenvilic, Anuer-
son and Spartanhurg are well awake 10 me
necessities Of the times, and oil nave fourlsh
ing factories and are building more @ ,h hpc nio w,
neers and have demonstrated to us that II II
better to bring the factories to the cotton thaf
to carry the cotton TO the factories. IL snoulS
make us blush for shame, that notwithstahd
ing the last fifteen years OF absolute demon
Stration as 10 their good, the proud ana boast
ful and grand old county of Abbeville has no.
Il single manufacturing interest WITHIN hci
borders. Will you be content 10 lall oenino
your sister counties, and instead OF standing
at the head, take charge of the tail or the en-
terprise? No. my friends, 1t must stop Now
or never is the time. All we want Is one
purpose and one determination. Let us nov
resoirc that we aciN have the factory, and II
will be- Let no man be ashamed because he
can take but little. The widows mite was
none the less acceptable and cfiicacions be
cause it was small and the factory built by
the many is ten times better than the factory
built by the few.
/ will not take up your time in talking
about the advantages to be derived rom 2
factory. They are potent, and others VIII
follow who have the statistics.
The Northern mills make money Wncn IL
costs on an average of S7.6j per bale for freight
etc, and then the return freight on the goods
Here our farmers haul the cotton from thcii
own gin houses to the factory and get quar-
ter to a half cent per pound more than mar
ketS give where there is no cotton factory. Is
this not an advantage to both? :. ,
A factory brings populatlon-lt prlhSS en-
tcrpriSe, il brings cash. 1t makes a better
market for cotton and for all small products,
and above all it infuscs new life into sleepy
people.
of Hope, and OF America the South is the land
of Promise. Money, brains and enterprise are
looking South Now is the golden opportnnl-
w. Money comes where money Is, ana the
gods help them only who help themselves.
hope there will be a general, free and full dis
cuSsion.
Essay OH Valuable Paper by
MIR. Jones.
Mr.. A. W. Jones spoke as follows:
| am requested 10 bring to the attention OF
~
" of q cotton factory. To arrive at proper
solution of this question, we must take the
Southern States, which produce the bulk OF
the raw cotton Ior the world, and the day l.
not far distant, if she continues to develop
her mineral resources as she has in the iaSl
few years. she will be the great iron and coal
centre of the United States. What would bC
the effect if the South had tho industries nat
urally belonging to her? 1t would build up
and infuSe new life into her lang guishing agrl.
culture. 1t would make our people more in.
tcllig, Mt, enterpriSins, Inventive progressive
transported hundreds and thousands of miles
from the cotton fields, manufactured into
thousands Of different articles for consump.
ton, and returned to us at from 81 to 5OOper
cent. advance.
We have allowed the enterprising and pro-
gressive people Of the North to absorb the
profits Of our cotton crop: Not only that, but
in and turn the screws until between the two
they have nearly left us paupers. What is the
result? Georgia, Alabama and other South.
crn States, and q portion Of South Carolina,
have walked up TO their true interest. They
are now moving ahead, building factories, or
ganiZing into cooperative associations to dc.
velop the interest OF their communities and
why should not we.
Gentlemen, the South is looking after
her birthright, reaching out for and develop.
ing the industries which naturally belong to
her. The consequence IS, the stream ol
Northern capital and immigration has turn
ed Southwark.
In the last seven years 5000 new industries
have been established in the South, and dur
ing the last eight months there have been S2gn,-
900 of capital invested: The consumption
of cotton in Southern mills has increased 81
per cent. during the last year. Within the la.l
three months thirty-two new cotton cOmpa
nips have been organized. The iron Industry
has advanced astOnlshngly, and the iron
mining Increase during the seven years has
been from 100000 tons 10 nine hundred thou
sand tons.
l. t, . lo E,r, nf
Atlanta, says: There are 2M,UOJ artisans AT
work today in the South that were not hero
in 1850. And this did not include the thou
sands that are building new enterprises. The
worth OF articles that six years ago were
brought from the North and West. This vast
sum now remains at home and is distributed
among our people.
AS TO some of the advantages the South has
over the Northern States, find upon invcsti-
CATION that the cost Of production * much
less. Take for instance the immense saving in
transportation of the raw material. Ber.
ning's Handbook of Alabama points out that
the mill owners Of Lowell, Mass, buying
their cotton in Augusta, Ga, pays ON 4 bale oI
cotton freight So, Il commission Of Sl.50, and
81 Is insurance, incidentals, exchange and
handling. making S.65 per bale.
AS to labor it is stated upon good authority
that the average price paid for labor Is not
more than one half or two-thirds OF that OF
the North. They work for lower wages, yet
actually get higher wages because the cost OF
living is so much less. Docs this not show
that our mills will have tremendous advan-
tagc in competition. With cheap land, cheap
labor, the raw cotton ut our door, the advan-
tageS of climate unsurpassed, where the
mills run throughout the year. The North
ern mills during part of the winter are at Il
stand-stil!, encased in ice. II goes to show
that In this progressive nineteenth century
the mills must come To the cotton. The Nm
u(Uctu:crS Record shows that n rapid and
marked development is going on in this great
industry.
In regard to the financial results. the Record